Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Definition of disposition information

• 672.51 (1) In this section, disposition information means all or part of an assessment report submitted to the court or Review Board and any other written information before the court or Review Board about the accused that is relevant to making or reviewing a disposition.

• Marginal note:Disposition information to be made available to parties

  (2) Subject to this section, all disposition information shall be made available for inspection by, and the court or Review Board shall provide a copy of it to, each party and any counsel representing the accused.

• Marginal note:Exception where disclosure dangerous to any person

  (3) The court or Review Board shall withhold some or all of the disposition information from an accused where it is satisfied, on the basis of that information and the evidence or report of the medical practitioner responsible for the assessment or treatment of the accused, that disclosure of the information would be likely to endanger the life or safety of another person or would seriously impair the treatment or recovery of the accused.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), the court or Review Board may release some or all of the disposition information to an accused where the interests of justice make disclosure essential in its opinion.

• Marginal note:Exception where disclosure unnecessary or prejudicial

  (5) The court or Review Board shall withhold disposition information from a party other than the accused or an Attorney General, where disclosure to that party, in the opinion of the court or Review Board, is not necessary to the proceeding and may be prejudicial to the accused.

• Marginal note:Exclusion of certain persons from hearing

  (6) A court or Review Board that withholds disposition information from the accused or any other party pursuant to subsection (3) or (5) shall exclude the accused or the other party, as the case may be, from the hearing during

  • (a) the oral presentation of that disposition information; or

  • (b) the questioning by the court or Review Board or the cross-examination of any person concerning that disposition information.

• Marginal note:Prohibition of disclosure in certain cases

  (7) No disposition information shall be made available for inspection or disclosed to any person who is not a party to the proceedings

  • (a) where the disposition information has been withheld from the accused or any other party pursuant to subsection (3) or (5); or

  • (b) where the court or Review Board is of the opinion that disclosure of the disposition information would be seriously prejudicial to the accused and that, in the circumstances, protection of the accused takes precedence over the public interest in disclosure.

• Marginal note:Idem

  (8) No part of the record of the proceedings in respect of which the accused was excluded pursuant to subparagraph 672.5(10)(b)(ii) or (iii) shall be made available for inspection to the accused or to any person who is not a party to the proceedings.

• Marginal note:Information to be made available to specified persons

  (9) Notwithstanding subsections (7) and (8), the court or Review Board may make any disposition information, or a copy of it, available on request to any person or member of a class of persons

  • (a) that has a valid interest in the information for research or statistical purposes, where the court or Review Board is satisfied that disclosure is in the public interest;

  • (b) that has a valid interest in the information for the purposes of the proper administration of justice; or

  • (c) that the accused requests or authorizes in writing to inspect it, where the court or Review Board is satisfied that the person will not disclose or give to the accused a copy of any disposition information withheld from the accused pursuant to subsection (3), or of any part of the record of proceedings referred to in subsection (8), or that the reasons for withholding that information from the accused no longer exist.

• Marginal note:Disclosure for research or statistical purposes

  (10) A person to whom the court or Review Board makes disposition information available under paragraph (9)(a) may disclose it for research or statistical purposes, but not in any form or manner that could reasonably be expected to identify any person to whom it relates.

• Marginal note:Prohibition on publication

  (11) No person shall publish in any document or broadcast or transmit in any way

  • (a) any disposition information that is prohibited from being disclosed pursuant to subsection (7); or

  • (b) any part of the record of the proceedings in respect of which the accused was excluded pursuant to subparagraph 672.5(10)(b)(ii) or (iii).

• Marginal note:Powers of courts not limited

  (12) Except as otherwise provided in this section, nothing in this section limits the powers that a court may exercise apart from this section.

Marginal note:Record of proceedings

• 672.52 (1) The court or Review Board shall cause a record of the proceedings of its disposition hearings to be kept, and include in the record any assessment report submitted.

• Marginal note:Transmittal of transcript to Review Board

  (2) If a court holds a disposition hearing under subsection 672.45(1), whether or not it makes a disposition, it shall send without delay to the Review Board that has jurisdiction in respect of the matter, in original or copied form, a transcript of the hearing, any other document or information related to the hearing, and all exhibits filed with it, if the transcript, document, information or exhibits are in its possession.

• Marginal note:Reasons for disposition and copies to be provided

  (3) The court or Review Board shall state its reasons for making a disposition in the record of the proceedings, and shall provide every party with a copy of the disposition and those reasons.

Marginal note:Proceedings not invalid

672.53 Any procedural irregularity in relation to a disposition hearing does not affect the validity of the hearing unless it causes the accused substantial prejudice.

Dispositions by a Court or Review Board

Terms of Dispositions

Marginal note:Dispositions that may be made

672.54 When a court or Review Board makes a disposition under subsection 672.45(2), section 672.47, subsection 672.64(3) or section 672.83 or 672.84, it shall, taking into account the safety of the public, which is the paramount consideration, the mental condition of the accused, the reintegration of the accused into society and the other needs of the accused, make one of the following dispositions that is necessary and appropriate in the circumstances:

• (a) where a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder has been rendered in respect of the accused and, in the opinion of the court or Review Board, the accused is not a significant threat to the safety of the public, by order, direct that the accused be discharged absolutely;

• (b) by order, direct that the accused be discharged subject to such conditions as the court or Review Board considers appropriate; or

• (c) by order, direct that the accused be detained in custody in a hospital, subject to such conditions as the court or Review Board considers appropriate.

Marginal note:Significant threat to safety of public

672.5401 For the purposes of section 672.54, a significant threat to the safety of the public means a risk of serious physical or psychological harm to members of the public  —  including any victim of or witness to the offence, or any person under the age of 18 years  —  resulting from conduct that is criminal in nature but not necessarily violent.

Marginal note:Victim impact statement

672.541 If a verdict of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder has been rendered in respect of an accused, the court or Review Board shall

• (a) at a hearing held under section 672.45, 672.47, 672.64, 672.81 or 672.82 or subsection 672.84(5), take into consideration any statement filed by a victim in accordance with subsection 672.5(14) in determining the appropriate disposition or conditions under section 672.54, to the extent that the statement is relevant to its consideration of the criteria set out in section 672.54;

• (b) at a hearing held under section 672.64 or subsection 672.84(3), take into consideration any statement filed by a victim in accordance with subsection 672.5(14), to the extent that the statement is relevant to its consideration of the criteria set out in subsection 672.64(1) or 672.84(3), as the case may be, in deciding whether to find that the accused is a high-risk accused, or to revoke such a finding; and

• (c) at a hearing held under section 672.81 or 672.82 in respect of a high-risk accused, take into consideration any statement filed by a victim in accordance with subsection 672.5(14) in determining whether to refer to the court for review the finding that the accused is a high-risk accused, to the extent that the statement is relevant to its consideration of the criteria set out in subsection 672.84(1).

Marginal note:Additional conditions — safety and security

672.542 When a court or Review Board holds a hearing referred to in section 672.5, the court or Review Board shall consider whether it is desirable, in the interests of the safety and security of any person, particularly a victim of or witness to the offence or a justice system participant, to include as a condition of the disposition that the accused

• (a) abstain from communicating, directly or indirectly, with any victim, witness or other person identified in the disposition, or refrain from going to any place specified in the disposition; or

• (b) comply with any other condition specified in the disposition that the court or Review Board considers necessary to ensure the safety and security of those persons.

Marginal note:Treatment not a condition

• 672.55 (1) No disposition made under section 672.54 shall direct that any psychiatric or other treatment of the accused be carried out or that the accused submit to such treatment except that the disposition may include a condition regarding psychiatric or other treatment where the accused has consented to the condition and the court or Review Board considers the condition to be reasonable and necessary in the interests of the accused.

• (2) [Repealed, 2005, c. 22, s. 22]

Marginal note:Delegated authority to vary restrictions on liberty of accused

• 672.56 (1) A Review Board that makes a disposition in respect of an accused under paragraph 672.54(b) or (c) may delegate to the person in charge of the hospital authority to direct that the restrictions on the liberty of the accused be increased or decreased within any limits and subject to any conditions set out in that disposition, and any direction so made is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be a disposition made by the Review Board.

• Marginal note:Exception — high-risk accused

  (1.1) If the accused is a high-risk accused, any direction is subject to the restrictions set out in subsection 672.64(3).

• Marginal note:Notice to accused and Review Board of increase in restrictions

  (2) A person who increases the restrictions on the liberty of the accused significantly pursuant to authority delegated to the person by a Review Board shall

  • (a) make a record of the increased restrictions on the file of the accused; and

  • (b) give notice of the increase as soon as is practicable to the accused and, if the increased restrictions remain in force for a period exceeding seven days, to the Review Board.

Marginal note:Warrant of committal

672.57 Where the court or Review Board makes a disposition under paragraph 672.54(c), it shall issue a warrant of committal of the accused, which may be in Form 49.

Marginal note:Treatment disposition

672.58 Where a verdict of unfit to stand trial is rendered and the court has not made a disposition under section 672.54 in respect of an accused, the court may, on application by the prosecutor, by order, direct that treatment of the accused be carried out for a specified period not exceeding sixty days, subject to such conditions as the court considers appropriate and, where the accused is not detained in custody, direct that the accused submit to that treatment by the person or at the hospital specified.

Marginal note:Criteria for disposition

• 672.59 (1) No disposition may be made under section 672.58 unless the court is satisfied, on the basis of the testimony of a medical practitioner, that a specific treatment should be administered to the accused for the purpose of making the accused fit to stand trial.

• Marginal note:Evidence required

  (2) The testimony required by the court for the purposes of subsection (1) shall include a statement that the medical practitioner has made an assessment of the accused and is of the opinion, based on the grounds specified, that

  • (a) the accused, at the time of the assessment, was unfit to stand trial;

  • (b) the psychiatric treatment and any other related medical treatment specified by the medical practitioner will likely make the accused fit to stand trial within a period not exceeding sixty days and that without that treatment the accused is likely to remain unfit to stand trial;

  • (c) the risk of harm to the accused from the psychiatric and other related medical treatment specified is not disproportionate to the benefit anticipated to be derived from it; and

  • (d) the psychiatric and other related medical treatment specified is the least restrictive and least intrusive treatment that could, in the circumstances, be specified for the purpose referred to in subsection (1), considering the opinions referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c).

Marginal note:Notice required

• 672.6 (1) The court shall not make a disposition under section 672.58 unless the prosecutor notifies the accused, in writing and as soon as practicable, of the application.

• Marginal note:Challenge by accused

  (2) On receiving the notice referred to in subsection (1), the accused may challenge the application and adduce evidence for that purpose.

Marginal note:Exception

• 672.61 (1) The court shall not direct, and no disposition made under section 672.58 shall include, the performance of psychosurgery or electro-convulsive therapy or any other prohibited treatment that is prescribed.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (2) In this section,

  electro-convulsive therapy

  electro-convulsive therapy means a procedure for the treatment of certain mental disorders that induces, by electrical stimulation of the brain, a series of generalized convulsions; (sismothérapie)

  psychosurgery

  psychosurgery means any procedure that by direct or indirect access to the brain removes, destroys or interrupts the continuity of histologically normal brain tissue, or inserts indwelling electrodes for pulsed electrical stimulation for the purpose of altering behaviour or treating psychiatric illness, but does not include neurological procedures used to diagnose or treat intractable physical pain, organic brain conditions, or epilepsy, where any of those conditions is clearly demonstrable. (psychochirurgie)